Non-hospitalised Covid-19 patients 10 times more likely to die from blood clots, finds study

Information on the undiscovered risks of Covid-19 is still limited but a new study offers a fresh perspective on the link between the virus and the risk of cardiovascular disorders, according to a Mint report.

Non-hospitalised Covid-19 patients are 2.7 times more likely to develop dangerous clots and 10 times more likely to die, said Mint, citing the UK study.

The study, published on Oct. 24 in the journal Heart, was based on information gathered during the first two Covid-19 waves from nearly 54,000 participants and was carried out over four and a half months.

In the study, researchers at the Queen Mary University of London said that Covid-19 was associated with a higher risk of severe blood clots that began in the patients' veins and spread to the heart, lungs and other regions of the body.

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The findings of the study suggested that non-hospitalised Covid-19 patients were 2.7 times more likely to develop dangerous clots called venous thromboembolisms and were more than 10 times more likely to die than people who did not have the disease. The risk increased within the first 30 days after the onset of the infection. The research also found that the risk might continue to increase for even longer.

Researchers noted that Covid-19, particularly early in the infection, was prone to harming blood arteries and causing life-threatening clots. The findings showed that the hazards were much higher for patients hospitalised for Covid-19. They had a 28-fold higher risk of venous thromboembolism, a 22-fold higher risk of heart failure and an 18-fold higher risk of stroke than people who were not impacted. Compared to those who were not infected, they had a 118-fold greater chance of dying.

While many countries had normalised Covid-19 infections, this "astronomically" increased risk of death among non-hospitalised Covid-19 patients proved that there was nothing about Covid-19 that was normal, according to Ziyad Al-Aly, director of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System.